Machine for forming cup leathers



Feb. 27, 1923. 6 1,446,966

I A. ERIKSQN MACHINE- FOR FORMING CUP LEATHERS Filed Noy. 21 1919 5sheets-sheet 1.

Feb. 27, 1926.4 I 1,446,966

6 A. ERIKSON MACHINE FOR FORMING CUP LEATHERS Filed Nov 21, 1919 5sheets-sheet 2 Feb. 27, 19,23.

' A. ERIKSON MACHINE FOR FORMING CURLEATHERS Filed Nov. 21, 1919 3sheets-sheen 5 Patented Feb. 27, 1923..

AXEL ERIKSON, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE. HESS AND HOPKINSLEATHER COMPANY, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR, FOE-MING CUP LEATHERS.

Application filed November 21, 1919. Serial No. 339,629.

T 0 all to 710m it may concern Be it known that 1, Arm. Eniirson, acitizen of the United States, residing at Rockford, in the county oflVinnehago and State of Illinois, have invented certain newand useful.Improvements in Machines for Forming Cup Leathers, of which thefollowing .1s a specincation. I 7

, This invention relates to the manufacture ofcup leathers, such as areused on pump pistons and valves of various kinds.

Because of the diiferent conditions under which .these cup leathers areused, the requirements as to shape. vary considerably, especially asregards formation of the corn ers and the quality of retaining the cupshape. The requirements: in some are for rounded corners, in otherssharp corners, and in some instances it is imperative that the cupleather shall retain its set shape after removal from the formingmachine, while in others this is not so important.

It has been the practice heretofore to manufacture these cup leathers"by. means of semiautomatic machines empioying male and female diesforpressing the blank into cup shape, but so far asI am aware, thismethod does not produce cup leathers of the desired qualities, nor hasthe apparatus been of such nature as to insure the production of cupleathers of the diife-rent shapes necessary to meet the variousconditions and requirements. v

I have in the present invention, aimed primarily, to provide generallyimprovedappa ratus for producing cup leathers ofany desired shape, so asto fully meet the condi,- tions and requirements of the trade. And tothis end, my invention contemplates forming the leather blanks to shapein anovel manner, which positively insures the desired results. That is,a sharp, modified or rounded corner cup might be obtained. the fibers ofwhich have been so worked, compressed and solidified as'to effectuallyretain their set position and shape. I

Another important object is to provide ape paratus for producing cupleathers more quickly and economically than has been heretoforepossible.

In furtherance of these general objects, my invention contemplates asimple and novel combination of dies, ant-:nnatically. operated in timedrelation for forming leather blanl-I into the desired cup shape.

An important feature in this regardQis the compressing of the peripheralportion of a cup leather between the inner a-nd outer tapered walls,whereby an acute angle is given to the corners, the permanence andsharpness of which, may be regulated by different adjustments for thepurpose. r

\ Other objects and attendant advantages relative to various features ofmy invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following description when considered inconnection with. the accompanying draw ings, in which- I 1 i Figure l isa sideelevation of a. machine embodying my improvements; y Fig. 2, areduced plan viewof the machine in the normal'position;

Fig. 3, a plan sectional view taken sub-' stantially on the line 33* ofFig. 1;

Fig. at, an enlarged fragmentarysectional view through the dies,showingthem in nor mal position, and a leather blank inserted;

Fig. 5, a similar sectional view showing the-first operation of the buttdies closed on the blank; v V v F'g; 6,shows the second'operation, viz.of turning the corner of the blank;

j Fig. 7, a fragmentary plan view, of the machine in the positionofthesecond operation; v I

Fig; 8, a. sectional view illustrating the third operation; and.

Fig. 9, a fragmentary plan view of the die-moving parts in the positionof the third operation. a

Before entering into a. detailed description of the apparatus employedfor operat ing the various dies, a brief description will be given oftheseveral steps performed in shaping a cup leather according to myinvention. It willbe noted at this point that my invention resides inthe provision of suitable apparatus for performing the severa-l stepsand operations about to be disclosed, for shaping a cup leather.Consequently, the particular form of apparatus herein disclosed andshown in the drawings fo-rimparting the desired movements are notessential, since anysuitable means might be v employed to the ends'desired- The first operation in forming a cup according to myimprovements is'to grip a blank centrally between what I have termed aninside butt die and an outside butt die.

skirt portion of the bl a over the corner of the tapereddn-i, prefer-.

the compression dies operate.

the former of which is of less diameter than the latter and is taperedso as to provide a corner having an acute angle. In this position, themarginal portion of the blank protrudes beyond the periphery of saidbutt dies. The terms inside and, outside are given to these die membersbecause they respectively engage the inner andouter sides of thetransverse end or head of a completed cup leather. The protrudingripheral or is next turned ably by means of a sliding sleeve die, whichembraces the outside butt die and moves axially thereof to engage andpress said peripheral portion over the corner an d against the sides ofthe tapered die, thus forming the blank to cup shape, but notpermanently to shape. The blai is brought to the de. sired shape bycompressing and solidifying the peripheral portion of. the cup leatherby means of a compression die having an interiorly tapered'facecorrespending to the taper of the inside butt die, and merinotelescopingly over the latter] from the: back thereof, forcing thesleeve die to recede or Withdraw from thecup leather, and by this actioncompressing saidperipheral portion to the extent desired. Simultaneouslywith this compressing action, the butt dies are forced togetherwithgreater pressure to prevent the leather from working around thecorner and crowding into the flat of the cup. This insures perfectforming of the corners, and by varying the pressure of the compress ingdie, the corners may be formed sharp, modified or rounded.

The machine in its present embodiment consists of front and'rear uprightstandards 11 and 12 respectively, suitably tied together and rigidlysupporting at their free ends, a pair of horizontal rodsor rails 13,which extend forwardly and rearwardly beyond the standards, as plainlyshown in the drawings. Upon the forward ends of these rails. I rigidlysecure a cross head 1%. to which is threadingly secured, centrallybetween the rails, the shank 15 of the outside butt die 16 mentionedabove. By turning the shank 15, the position of the outside butt die 16may be varied with respect to the compression die .for'a. purpose to leementioned hereinafter.

This die 16 serves in effect as a rigid abut ment against which theinside butt die and A suitable lock nut 17 is employed for holding theshank 15 and its die against displacement.

' A pair of slidingcross heads designated generally by characters 18 and19, mounted on the rails between the standards 11 and the stationarycross head 1 1- and slidable lengthwise thereon, are equippedrespectively with compression and cup-forming dies, designated generallyby characters 21 and 22 respectively, co-axial with the outside butt die16. These cross heads 18 and 19 are connected by means of a one-wayconnection, such as rods 23 fixed to the cross head 19 and passingfreely through openings in the cross head 18 and equipped at the rearofsaid openings with adjustable stops, such as nuts 24. Thus, the crosshead '18 may move toward and from the cross head 19 without affectingthe latter, except when moved away therefrom against the stops 24,whereupon both cross heads will move in unison in this direction. v p IThe die 22 as shown in Fig. 4, is simply in the form of a sleeveembracing the die 16 and adapted by movement of the cross head 19 to beadvanced telescopingly over said die to turn the corners of the cup aswill he presently mentioned. Similarly the compression die 21 is ofsleeve sh'ape,. b'ut its interior is formed to provide a cylin-. dricalportion 25, a tapered portion 26 and an abutment. 27, and this diemovable telescopingly overthe inside butt die 28. men tioned above,which is carried on the end of a plunger 29 slidably passed through the.cross head 18 and through a rearniost cross,

Th1s plunger actuated by a cam fixed to'a cam shaft 36, the drivingmeans of which will bedescribed hereinafter. The rear end 37 of thepurplunger 29 is axially adjustable for a pose also to be mentionedhereinafter. The cam 35 is adapted to advance the plunger, and thelatter is retracted by means of a contractile spring 38 connected at oneend to the cross head 31' andfatits opposite end to a collar 39 on theplunger. The butt end 41 of the die 28 is slightly'concave and thebuttend 12 of the die 16 is convex, so that the center of an interposedblank will be dished inwardly when the plunger is advanced to theposition shown in Fig. 1. Prior to this first operation, the blank issupported on a suitable table 43 supported from the cross head 19,having been placed there by the operator or by any suitablefeedmechanism.

The periphery ofthe die 28 is tapered atits end portion 44:corresponding to the" taper 26 of the die 21 and is cylindrical at itsrear end 45. Thus the surfaces 11 and 1 1 of the die 28 present arelatively sharp corner of an acute angle. The purpose of these featureswill now be described. Because of the pressure required in thecompressing action, I prefer to employ a toggle-lever mechanism.

This consists of the levers 46 and 47, Figs.

. In the present instance, the shaft carries a fixed gear 52 in meshwith a pinion 53 on the shaft 54 which is adapted to be driven from apulley 55 through a friction clutchv 56. This clutch is thrown in bypressing on the foot lever 57, and when the clutch is thrown out byreverse movement of this lever, a. brake 58 will be simultaneouslyengaged to instantly stop the operation. hen the clutch is engaged, therear end. 59 of the foot lever will be held on top of the latch 61,allowing the latter to position a pin 62 in the path of a cam plate 63on the adjacent link 51, so that when the" shaft- 36 makes a completerevolution in a counterclockwise direction, viewing Fig. 1, said camplate will press the pin 62 and its latch outwardly allowing the leverend 59 to fall under the influence of spring 64., thereby stopping theoperation. however, that the operation might be stopped at any time bypressing sidewise on the hand lever 65, which releases the latch 61 andthus allows the lever 57 to throw out the clutch.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that when the machine is put inoperation, both the cross head 19 and the plunger 29 willbesimultaneously moved. The latter will be pressed forward through theagency of the cam-actuated parts, to engage and hold a leather blankbetween the butt dies 16 and. 28 in the manner shown in Fig. 5. Duringthis movement, the toggle levers will be drawn down as the cranks 49approach their lowermostposition, thereby drawing the cross head 18rearwardly until it engages the sto 3s 24 and carries with it the crosshead 19 to the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7. By this operation thesleeve die 22 presses the outstanding peripheral edge of the blankaround the corner of the die 2S, to cup shape. This does not, however,compress or fix the leather inthis shape, but is simply a preliminaryformation so that the cup will be in condition for the final compressionand shaping. As the cranks 49 revolve upwardly, the lever 46 will beD1'9S8il forwardly, by reason of the cross hea l 1-31 being held againstlengthwise movement in either direction on the rails 13. At

It will be noted,

this pointit will be, noted that compression springs 66 on said railstakethe thrust of the compression stroke, but such'springs are of suchtension as not to yield except under excessive pressure. During theinitial and greater part of this forward movement of the head 18, thehead 19 remains stationary,

the die 22 remaining in the position shown In Fig. 6, until theadvancing die 21 in the compression operation, meets it and forces itback off the cup leather, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. It will be herenoted that the cylindrical portion 25 of the die 21 telescopes thepreviously formed cup leather so as to provide a substantial; andclosefitting outer die wall, which merges into the tapered wall 26. Thislatter wall draws the peripheral edge portion of the cup inwardly, so.that it conforms to the tapered end 44 of the die 28, whereupon theshoulder'27 engages the outer end of said peripheral portion of the cupand compresses this portion between the inner and outer tapered walls 44and 26. By this means a very powerful compressing I action 1s obtained.and by reason 'ofthe rim portion of the cup being confined .between thetapered ,-.w,alls

anddi'sposed at an acute angle with respect to the base of the cup, thefibres will be confined to this shape and very forcibly pressed thereto.This compressing operation would.

not, however, be so effectual for the purposes in mind if it were notfor an additional pressure being imparted to the inside butt die 28 forcompressing the base or bottom.

of the cup so as to prevent the leather from working inwardly aroundthecorner under the infiuence'of the compression die 21. I

obtain this pressure on the die 28 substan tially simultaneously withand during compression by the die 21. It is effected by means of asecondary cross head 67, Fig. 1, slidalbly supported on rods 68 carriedby the cross head 18. This head or abutment 67 embraces the plunger 29and is adapted to strike against the collar 39 thereon. atthe requiredtime. The thrust is cushioned by springs 69 on the rods 68, and thepressure of the die 28 may be increased or diminished, asrequired, byadjusting the tension ofthe springs 69, as will be obvious. And

in the event that a sharp cornered cup leather is desired. thedie 1.6will be adjusted closer. to the. shoulder 27 (Fig. 8), that'is, towardthe rear of the machine to cause greater compressionofthe peripheralportion of the cup. At the same time the die. 28 must be correspondinglyretracted.

this'being done in the present instance by adpist'ment of the end piece37 of the plunger 29. Likewise the tension of the springs 69 would beadjustedtosuit the requirements. It will thus be seen that I am able toform cup leathers with the corners either rounded or sharp, or amodification of these, according to the needs of the particular case.For cup leathers o't drllerent diameters, dies of the corresponding sizeare used.

time co'n'ipressingthe cup bottornfor the purpose of insuring thesolidifying and shaping ellect desired. In the present case the leatherblanks are .i'ied or positioned by hand on the table d3 intermediatethebutt dies, but, nevertheless, the operation is com paratively rapid andconsiderably faster than machines heretofore designed for tormingcupleathers. I c v it is believed that the foregoing conveys L clearunderstanding of the principles and injects o't'the invention, and whileI have illustrated but a single, working embodiment thereof, it shouldbe understood 'thatthe sameis susceptible of embodiment in various termsand constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, as expressed in the appended claims, in

v wnich lclaim: v

1. Apparatus tor tormingftrom a blank of leather a cup-shaped articlecharacterized by a transverse head and an annular skirt, comprising diesfor so forming the blank, said dies having internal and external wallswhich converge toward the open end of the article, and mea'nsttor arrially compressing the, skirt by pressure on its outer end while confiningthe skirt between said die walls. v

Apparatus for, forming from a blank of leather a cup-shaped articlecharacterized by a transverse head and an annular skirt,

co;uprisingdies for so forming the blank to cup shape, said dies havinginternal and external alls which converge toward the open end oi. thearticle, and means tor axially cou'u 'iressing the skirt by pressure onits outer end while confining the skirt between said die walls, and saiddies having complemental concave and convex walls for dishing the headof said blank inwardly.

3. In apparatus for forming cup leathers, a tapered inside butt die,means for turning the leather stock over the corner of said tapered dieto cup shape, a die having an internal wall and means tor axiallycompress ing the peripheral portion of the cup leather between thetapered wall of said die and said internal wall.

a. Apparatus for forming cup leathers com 'vrising an. inside and anoutside butt die between which leather blankis adapted to be interposedand held, a sleeve die embracing the outside butt die and movable'telesropiugly over the same to turn the peripheral portion of the blankoverthe corner-Hot the inside butt die, and a second sleeve dieei'nbracing the inside butt die and movable telescopingly over thelattertor compressingthe peripheral portion of the cup, said lnside buttdie and second sleev open endv ot the cup "for shaping theperiphe diehaving complen'iental faces converging toward the oral wall thereofwhile under said compres i'ipheral portion of the cup between thetapered walls of said dies.

"6.2111 a machine ltor forming cup leathers,

the combination of an inside and anoutside butt die'between which ablank is adapted to be interposed, the butt end of the inside die beingconcave and having a tapered periphery converging from said'butt end,the butt end of said outside die being convex, means for pressing saiddi stogetherto hold an interposedblanl with its peripheral edgeprotruding, means for bending said edge over the corner ot'the insidedie to cup shape, and

' a compressing die adapted to axially compress the peripheral portionof the'cup and hat ng an interior tape-red wall substantially oonrormingto the taper of said inside butt die, whereby said-peripheral portion ofthe cup will be compressed between tapered die walls.

7. In a machine the combination of an inside and an outside buttdiebetween which a blank is adaptedto be. interposed, the butt endof theinside die being concave and having a taperedperiphery converging fromsaid butte nd, the butt end of said outside die being convex, means forpressingsaid dies together to hold an int terposed blank with itsperipheral edge pro for forming cup leathers,

truding, means for bendingsaid edge over. i

the corner of the inside die to cup shape, a compress ng, die adapted toaxially compress the peripheral portion of the cup and having aninterior tapered wall substan-s tially conforming to the taper of saidinside butt die, whereby said peripheral portion oi? the cup will becompressed between tapered die walls, and means for moving one of saidbutt dies in a compression action to compress the bottom of thecupsimultaneously with the action of said compressing die.

8. In apparatus for forming cup leathers, the combination of inside andoutside butt dies between which a leather blank is adaptfor relativelyadjusting" said butt dies with respect to the compressing movement ofthe compressing die to secure greater or less compression. I

9. Apparatus for forming cup leathers comprising an inside and anoutside butt die between which a leather blank is adapted to beinterposed and held with the marginal portion of the blank protruding, asleeve die mo *able telescopically over the outside butt die to turnsaid marginal portion of the blank over the corner of the inside buttdie, to cup shape, and a sleeve die movable telescopingly over theinside butt die to axially compress said peripheral portion of the cup.

10. In a machine of the character described, a frame having a guideway,a pair of die carriers mounted to slide on said guideway and eachcarrying a sleeve die 'co-axial with respect to the other, one of saiddies being a compression die, an inside and an outside butt die co-axialwith said sleeve dies and over which the latter are telescopicallymovable, means for moving the inside butt die axially toward the outsidebutt die, to hold an interposed leather blank therebetween with itsperipheral portion protruding, and mechanism for operating said diecarriers to first cause one, a corner-turning die, to turn saidperipheral portion of the blank over the corner of the inside butt dieand then to move the compressing die in a direction to axially compresssaid peripheral portion of the cup.

11. In a machine of the character de-' scribed, the combination ofrelatively movable dies for forming a leather blank into cup shape,including a compressing die for axially compressing the peripheralportion of a cup, toggle levers connected with said compressing die,yieldable means taking the thrust of said toggle levers, a crank and alink connectiontherefrom-to the toggle levers for operating the same indie compress ing and return strokes, and power driven means for rotatingsaid crank including means for automatically stopplng the crank at thecompletion of each revolution.

12. In a machine of the character demeans for moving the sleeve dieembracing the outside butt die telescopingly over the same to turn theperipheral portion of the blank over the cornerof the inside butt die,

and means for moving the other sleeve die telesc-opingly over the ins debutt d eto axially compress said peripheral portion of, the cup. I t 13.In a machine for forming cup leathers, an inside and an outside butt 1die, adapted to hold an interposed blank with the peripheral portionturned over the vcorner ofythe insidebutt die to cup shape, acompressing die for axially compressing said peripheral portion of thecup, and means for relatively moving said butt dies to compress thebottom of the cup during the compression of the peripheral portionthereof. I

14. In a machine for forming cup leathers, an inside and an outside buttdie, adapted to hold an interposed blank with the peripheral portionturned over the corner of the inside butt die to cup shape, acompressing die for axially compressing said peripheral portion of thecup,,means for moving the compressing die to efieot the compressingaction, and means actuated by, said die-moving means for relativelymoving the butt' dies to compress the bottom of the cup die duringcompression of the peripheral portion thereof. 15. In a machine forforming cup leathers, an inside and an outside butt die between and bywhich an interposed blank is held with the peripheral portion turnedover the corner of the inside butt die to cup shape, and a compressingdie movable telescopingly over both of said butt dies for axiallycompressing the peripheral portion of the cup between the periphery ofthe inside butt die and an interior wall of said compressing dies. a

16. Apparatus for forming cup leathers comprising an inside and anoutside butt die eo-axially disposed and adapted for centrally grippingan interposed blank, the inside butt die being of less diameter thantheoutside butt die,ia sleeve die for turning the" marginal portion ofthe blank over the inside butt die, and a compression sleeve die movableover the inside butt die for axially compressing said marginal portionof the blank.

17. Apparatus for forming cup leathers comprising an inside and anoutside butt die co-axially-disposed and adapted for centrally grippingan interposed blank, the in side butt die being of less diameter thanthe outside butt die, asleeve die for turning the marginal portion ottheblank over the in i side butt die,fand a compression sleeve die movableover the inslde butt d1e for axially compressing said marginal portionof the blank, the external surface of said inner butt die and theinternal face of said compression die being tapered converging away fromthe outside butt die. y i u 18. Apparatus for forming from a blank offibrous material, a cup-shaped article characterized by a transversehead and an annular skirt comprising means for formmg the blank to a cupshape in which the eorner'made by the juncture of the head andskirtforms an acute angle, and means for axially compressing said skirtportion by pressureon its end While confined in said shape. 7

19. Apparatus for forming a cup-shaped articlefroni a blank of. fibrousmaterial ineluding an annular inside butt die, the pe ripheral Wall ofwhich is tapered and forms with the end a corner having an acute angle,

and a compression die having an-interiorly axially compressing the samehile it is con- 20 fined between the tapered Walls of said dies.

AXEL EBIKSON.

